Gift giving

Everyone in our group was impressed with how thoughtful our Chinese hosts were. We received gifts from so many of the people we met. Mr. Huo, the talented bronze artist, whose factory we visited in Xi'an, gave all of us a replica of "Galloping Horse," a sculpture from the East Han Dynasty (about 25-100 A.D.). He urged us even to take anything we liked from his display room, which we declined, although there were many lovely options. In talking with me individually Mr. Huo offered to donate a sculpture to my childrens' schools, which, while tempting, I did not feel I could accept.

The Confucius Institute in Beijing, which was responsible for our trip, gave each member of our group a different Chinese paper cutting as a memento. Paper cutting is an absolute artform in China and involves the skill of just one person, a pair of scissors, and a piece of paper. The creations that emerge are amazing. Here are some of the images: https://www.google.com/search?q=chinese+paper+cutting&hl=en&rlz=1T4ADFA_enUS438US438&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=3RTFT76TCqbc2AWCk8lj&ved=0CHkQsAQ&biw=1600&bih=747

As an aside, I should mention that in the not too distant past, a Chinese woman was not considered good wife material unless she could produce beautiful paper cuttings.

At each of the universities we visited the faculty and administration had gift bags for us and at Soochow University many of the art faculty gave us some of their art work.

Our very knowledgeable and patient tour guide in Beijing, Michael, even gave us all a small gift on our last day together, and you've already read earlier in the blog about how Alice's husband, Mr. Foo presented us all with strands of pearls.

This generosity of spirit and hospitality is a touching aspect of Chinese culture.

Rockery

Paige and I were introduced to a new word in China (one of many) -- that of "rockery." Essentially a rockery is a rock garden. These were quite popular, particularly in Souzhou. The rock used is limestone, which is very porous and gives way to unusual shapes and forms, leading one to believe that the rocks in the gardens were sculpted by man. However, this is not the case. The elements, and water in particular, create the unique sculptures. Typically the limestone had to be transported long distances from South China. Anyone who had a rockery was recognized as wealthy because of the expense associated with moving the limestone from its quarry.

Peggy

Thresholds

Many of the ancient buildings we toured in China had high thresholds at the entrances to rooms. Thresholds served spiritual purposes, to keep evil spirits out, and practical purposes, to keep water out. These thresholds were quite high, causing one to have to step very carefully and purposefully over. The higher the threshold, the wealthier or higher in status the owner of the building. Women should step over the threshold leading with the right foot while men should lead with the left foot. This stems from the Chinese belief in Yin and Yang. Yin is associated with the feminine, while Yang is associated with the masculine.

Peggy

Bringing Sexy Back

During the Tang Dynasty (618-907), one of the most prosperous periods of Chinese history, Emperor Xuanzong had a beloved concubine, Yang Guifei, about whom much was written. Yang was reported to have a voluptuous figure and started a fashion trend towards full-figured ladies being all the rage. A woman with a double chin was very desirable during this time . When our group toured a musuem in Xi'an, we viewed a porcelain exhibit of these fashionable ladies, which you can see in the picture Paige took. Their low necklines were apparently very scandalous for the time.

Later in our travels we visited a courtyard home in Beijing. Immediately on being seated around a table in the receiving room my eyes were drawn to a large glass jar of dark liquid containing a preserved snake. I was at once repelled (fearing I might be asked to consume some of the substance) and fascinated. I asked the hostess about the jar of liquid and was informed through an interpreter that the unfortunate snake was caught in a rural area, then preserved with some combination of ingredients the hostess had prepared. After we'd left the courtyard home I was informed that some Chinese people believe that the snake will release its essence in such a concoction and help bolster a man's sexual stamina if he drinks it. Kind of like a tradtional Chinese viagra, I thought...

Peggy

China Daily Articles

I finally had a chance to read the China Daily English language newspaper I picked up in the airport. Here are links to some articles I found interesting:

Education

"Students prep on amino acid drips" http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2012-05/08/content_15239380.htm

"Parents 'wait and see' on all-boys classes" http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-05/21/content_15341409.htm

"Racing for places at schools" http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-05/21/content_15341393.htm

"'Fortunetellers' guide students through exams" http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2012-05/22/content_15351884.htm 

"Elite colleges must embrace rural students" http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2012-05/22/content_15351914.htm

"Be yourselves, coaches tell Chinese students" http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/sunday/2012-05/20/content_15338621.htm


Disability

"Reading without seeing" http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2012-05/22/content_15356372.htm

"Grandma returns to school, to teach love" http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2012-05/22/content_15351842.htm

"Light at the end of the tunnel" http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2012-05/24/content_15377582.htm

Peggy

Beautiful Babies and Cherished Children

As Peggy expressed in her "Welcome Home and Highlights" post, the people of China LOVE their children; their beautiful faces and expressions quite often stopped us in our tracks. As humble as the people were, they were thrilled by the attention to and photographs taken of their babies, and the care-givers were most often grandparents.

Lindang Hutongs and Rickshaws

On our last day in Beijing, we discovered the history of hutongs, courtyard homes, and rickshaws.

The hutongs, and their associated courtyard houses (or siheyuan, meaning four sided courtyard or quadrangle) are still an essential part of the unique character of Beijing. The hutongs are the ancient alleyways or lanes formed between lines of courtyard houses. Up until around 60 years ago most of the residential areas of Beijing were composed of hutongs and quadrangles. What gives the hutongs their unique character are the courtyard houses, hiding behind their long attractive curtain walls, with just the doorways giving a clue as to what lies behind. The main buildings in the hutongs were almost always quadrangles. The courtyard house is one of the most interesting features of traditional Chinese architecture. Source: http://www.sacu.org/hutongs.html

Paige and Peggy with the gracious owner of a courtyard home

Walnut tree in the courtyard

Walnuts

A trip through the hutongs on rickshaws gave us a glimpse of Chinese traditional life.

Kim and Alice

Naptime

Olympic Park

http://www.youtube.com/user/beijing2008?feature=relchannel

Getting to see the "Bird's Nest" Olympic Stadium up close was a real treat. The architecture was amazing and I was surprised that all of those pieces woven together to make the bird's nest were concrete, and not metal, as they appeared to be on tv and in reality. The Olympic Park covers a lot of area and includes the famous "Water Cube" where the aquatic sports events were held. It was very hazy on this day, as you can see in the pictures, and we were probably at the venue around 3 p.m.

The photo at the bottom says "Smiling Beijing Traffic Police." We didn't see any of them...

Peggy

Welcome Home and Highlights!

 Safely and snugly at home again in Mobile/Grand Bay -- Sweet Home Alabama! I got the best welcome home at the Mobile airport from my husband, Dave, who brought my sweet girl, Ruth, to greet me. Nothing like being in the arms of those who love you. Then we drove to my son's (Paul's) school and got him out on an early dismissal. I was so happy to see him that I gave him a hug in the school parking lot, probably to the mortification of his 6th-grade soul.

I return from China utterly exhausted, body clock completely out of whack, sinus infection raging (nothing unusual for me), but so full of happiness at the MOST excellent adventure we had there.

These things about China made the biggest impression on me:

1. The Chinese people are very friendly. I was made to feel welcome everywhere I went. In hotels, restaurants, attractions, and especially in casual encounters on the street, people were so nice. I was never made to feel ignorant because I didn't know the language or customs, and I never felt that people were looking at me with suspicion, only honest curiosity. I don't know what I was expecting, but I was really impressed with the hospitality and genuine care shown me by the Chinese. I also felt very safe throughout the trip. In fact, I felt safer during my two weeks in China than I ever did during my two years of living in Russia.

2. Chinese people love their children. No, I mean they really, really love their children. They cherish their children, in the truest sense of the word. You have seen in Paige's pictures how beautiful the Chinese babies are (and I never saw one that wasn't beautiful) and how lovingly the parents and grandparents regard them. I do know that the one child policy has had an impact on how the Chinese value their offspring, but I don't know what the sentiment toward children was before the policy was enacted. What I can say is that Chinese children are highly valued, raised with great affection, and are the pride of their families. That feeling was evident everywhere we went in China and it was beautiful to witness.

3. China is booming with tourism. Again, not sure what I was expecting, but I was blown away by the number of international tourists in China. One morning I had breakfast with some lovely Aussies on a tour of China. The next morning I sat with some Brits. Another time I shared an elevator with a lady from New Zealand. Over breakfast again I made friends with two widows from Wisconsin who were touring China. We passed a tour group from Brazil in the Forbidden City. As I shared in an earlier post, I met a man from Birmingham, AL, on the Great Wall!

Mary Jo, our Troy group leader, said that she'd witnessed an amazing increase in the number of tourists in China over the last five years. She attributed some of this to the 2008 Olympics, which were  held in Beijing. This makes sense. Beijing (and China in general) made a lot of changes and improvements to infrastructure, facilities, etc., in preparation for the Olympics, and people were impressed. Also the television coverage of the Olympics, including that great Opening Ceremony, made folks want to visit China...and they are!

- Peggy

These are a Few of my Favorite Things...

First I want to thank the Confucius Institute, Troy University, and the University of South Alabama for making our "excellent adventure" to China possible and Peggy Delmas for her friendship, good ideas, and organizational skills which helped me pull off major travels in a short period of time.

Peggy, Mary Jo, Kim, Jason, Vic, Beverly, Alice, Susan and Sarah were wonderful travel partners. I could never have imagined how much I would learn and how much fun I would have being a part of a new "family" exploring a country across the world.

Paige and Peggy in the Mobile airport...Sweet Home Alabama!

As I leave China, I am already anticipating missing so many experiences which have become comfortable over the 10 day journey:

I will miss the morning e-mails from Peggy containing the beautiful words she arranged the night before for me to quickly copy and paste to the blog before we boarded the bus and while we still had Internet access. Thankfully Peggy is my USA friend and colleague and this trip is just the beginning of our friendship and collaboration; in addition to our academic pursuits, we have big plans for experimenting with Chinese cooking!

I will miss witnessing Dean Mary Jo Cochran's professionalism and travel expertise. From her articulate communication and leadership at each and every university we visited to her savvy shopping skills in the major markets of China, I was never anything less than amazed by her abilities.

I will miss referring to each day as a year; we did so much every day! I now feel like I have known my colleagues and friends for 10 years. We have certainly experienced events of a lifetime together and I would travel anywhere with this family!

I'm going to miss catnaps on the bus ...dozing off to the melodic and often animated sounds of Alice and our tour guide in each city talking to each other in Chinese.

I will miss loading the pictures of the day on my iPad (holding my breath as I prayed storage room didn't run out) and looking at them on the bus; picking out our favorites and expressing oohs and ahhs with my friends!

As a person who doesn't normally eat breakfast, I will miss breakfast buffets which were available every morning; "Jolly rancher" (as Jason called it) kiwi juice might be missed the most.

Having lunch and dinner in a different restaurant every day and night including a variety of Chinese dishes served family style is my new normal. I loved analyzing each and every ingredient with our "family" and choosing our favorites. Everything with eggplant was devoured by Peggy and me.

I will miss attempting to speak Chinese with Alice's patient assistance and the honest and fascinating discussions comparing and contrasting American and Chinese culture; you have taught me so much Alice!

I will miss laughing incessantly with Kim and Jason as we enjoyed the planned events all day together and explored the streets each and every night to discover authentic Chinese experiences. If laughter really is the best medicine and humor is healthy, I should be extremely well!

-Paige

Jason, Paige, and Kim - the three musketeers in Beijing

Almost Home

As Paige said, while we are no longer in China, we carry the experiences and memories in our hearts and minds. We look forward to being with our families and friends again, but still have so much to share. Please continue to visit the blog. Paige has thousands of pictures (many of them National Geographic worthy, I think you'll agree) to sort though and I have pages and pages of notes to review. We will be adding more in-depth information as well as links so that you can explore some aspects of China on your own.

So, as we academic types are prone to ask, what's the takeaway?It's this: There's a great big world out there. Get yourself into as many of its nooks and crannies as possible. You'll be a better person for having done it.

Stay tuned...more to come...

Although Peggy and I are back in the United States tonight...specifically Atlanta, we have only scratched the surface with our planned blog posts about the excellent journey we are analyzing and synthesizing. We have discussed multiple themes and posts sharing the highlights through Peggy's beautiful writing and some of my (over 2600) pictures. In an effort to keep our friends and family informed during the trip we posted as much as we could given technology limitations and a packed schedule but we both have plans to fill in the gaps and add the numerous posts we've discussed sharing the rich Chinese culture through our lenses. It was truly a celebration of the senses!

Among many others, we have more posts on the Olympics, universities, artists, gardens, temples, people, babies, food, flowers, statues, textures and patterns yet to come...

-Paige

Pearl Market and Silk Market

If you were a die-hard shopper, then the Pearl and Silk Alley Markets were your idea of heaven. But if you weren't fond of noise, crowds, and haggling, then they were certainly not your cup of tea. As you can see from the pictures, these places had booth after booth, row upon row, floor upon floor, of various goods ranging from silk scarves, to stuffed animals, to teas, to electronics, to souvenirs. Everything was negotiable. China is one of those places where, if you don't haggle, then you're a fool for paying the price marked. While I do like to shop, I'm not much of one for haggling. Some people really enjoy it and in our group, Jason prided himself on geting a better bargain than the rest of us, and in many cases he did. I don't think I was much fun for the vendors because I'd give them my bottom price, then walk away (you have to be strong). Almost every time the vendor would run me down before I'd turned the corner. Several of them said "lady, you drive a hard bargain." I'm not sure if it was said in admiration or disgust, but let's be clear here, I was not exactly dropping big money on luxury items.

Peggy

China Capital Museum

We got to spend two hours in the China Capital Market, which was not nearly enough time to do it justice, but was just enough to whet our appetites.

There was an entire floor of the museum devoted to customs and daily life in ancient China. I picked up quite a few interesting tidbits.

Cranes and bats are both symbols of longevity in Chinese culture and can be seen adorning everything from pottery to clothing. Wealthy families had halls of longevity which were the main halls of the houses where family members prayed for the longevity of the family's senior members.

In ancient times wealthy Chinese parents would have their babies perform "grabbing tests" to predict what role in life they would take. Boy babies were sat in the middle of a table with various objects representing occupations. If the baby grabbed money he would be a businessman one day. If he grabbed a calligraphy brush he would be a scholar and if he grabbed a Buddhist monk's necklace, he would be a monk.

Additionally, babies wore "bone locks of longevity," bracelets tied to their wrists with red thread. Their purpose was to help overcome scarcity and avoid evil.

A kylin was a mythical creature in Chinese folklore which was a combination of dragon, tiger, phoenix and horse. Imagery of a boy riding a kylin represented wishes for families to be blessed quickly with boy babies.

- Peggy